WHAT WERE COMMON MEDICAL BELIEFS, PRACTICES, PROCEDURES, AND MEDICINES IN SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND? HOW WERE THESE DIFFERENT IN NOBLE/MERCHANT/COMMON LIFE? WHAT, IF ANY, MEDICAL DISCOVERIES OR ADVANCEMENTS WERE MADE DURING SHAKESPEARE’S LIFETIME?
Manisha P.
English 8-3
3/1/10
Medicine
Medicine played a very important role in lives of people in Shakespeare’s England in various ways. It led to more innovation and new remedies. Although medicine was not that advanced in Shakespeare’s time, it led to many discoveries by three doctors: Ambroise Paré, William Harvey, and Andreas Vesalius. According to Lia Ramsey in her article “Medical Beliefs and Practices.” “William Harvey studied of the circulation of the blood and disproved the existing notion that the heart was merely a fountain of supply.” Ambroise Pare “discovered the effectiveness of hygiene on wound healing,” said Lia Ramsey. According to Dave Parkins in his article “ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514-1564)”, “Vesalius published his revolutionary book De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body).” Vesalius described several organs in the human body. He also described the thalamus, an organ of the human body, located inside the brain, for the first time. As you can see, medicine led to the development of many cures and had a great impact on the lives of many people in Shakespeare’s time.
There were many medical theories and beliefs in Shakespeare’s England. The main one regarded humours. Humours are body fluids, which are thought to be located in the liver. It was believed that the four humours, blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile), and melancholy (black bile) existed within a person’s body. According to Andy Patterson and Bethany White from the web article, "Elizabethan Medicine,” “If a person had more blood, they were likely to be joyous, kind, and have a sanguine (optimistic) personality. With plenty of phlegm, people were more cowardly, unresponsive, and have a phlegmatic (unemotional) personality. A great amount of choler (yellow bile) resulted in people being easily angered, impatient, and having a choleric (irritable) personality. With more melancholy (black bile), they were said to be more gluttonous and satiric.” Moreover, it was believed that too much of any of the humours caused diseases. A cure to avoid the sinful humour was to reduce the amount of blood. In order to reduce the amount of blood, people had to reduce the bile by using drugs. This was how the humours theory worked.
Another main belief was on the four elements: air, water, fire, and earth. They were thought to determine a person’s health and personality. “Air was the cold element, water the moist, earth the dry, and fire was the hot element,” said Andy Patterson and Bethany White in the web article “Elizabethan Medicine.” One more belief regarded “certain gemstones held medicinal powers. Garnets were believed to keep sorrow at bay. Topaz and jacinth were used to alleviate anger. Emeralds and sapphires were thought to ease the mind,” said Andy Patterson and Bethany White. Those were some of the few beliefs and theories made and believed by people in Shakespeare’s England.
Many types of medical practices took place in Shakespeare’s England. Cinchona, a plant derivative from Peru, was the first effective remedy for ague (malaria). It only cured a certain type of fever, though. Physicians discovered that putting a roasted onion in a person’s ear could cure an earache. A person had to rub his/her eyes with a black tomcat’s tail, to cure a sty. Lemon juice was said to make people healthy because it had a great amount of Vitamin C. Arterial blood of lambs were given to patients to cure mental illness. “This method was stopped when a patient died,” said Lia Ramsey. Those were some of the medical practices that benefited many people in Shakespeare’s England.
Many physicians in Shakespeare England didn’t have advanced medical procedures, but still managed to cure many of their patients. Urine was the most common way to find the cause of the problem. It could be carried, by a special messenger, to the physician inside a urinal, which is a glass vessel. The special messenger would rush the urinal to the physician. Liza Picard, author of Elizabeth’s London, explains that the urine “was best to be fresh – from patient to physician, who could diagnose without ever seeing the patient, just by holding the urinal to the light” (98). This was one of the common procedures done by doctors.
During Shakespeare’s lifetime there were various types of medicines. Many medicines involved potions acquired from the concoction of plants and herbs. Leaches and cupping did the job of getting blood. The bubonic plague was “treated by means of lancing the buboes and applying a tepid poultice of onion, butter, and garlic,” as said in the article “Elizabethan England Medicine”. Other types of medicines involved tobacco, lily root, arsenic, laxatives, suppositories, clysters (enemas), ointments, and dried toad. To cure stomach pain, people used mint, wormwood, and balm. For headaches, they used rose, sage, bay, and lavender. Vinegar was used to treat wounds because many people believed that it had an antiseptic property. Those were some of the medicines used during Shakespeare’s lifetime.
WHAT WERE COMMON MEDICAL BELIEFS, PRACTICES, PROCEDURES, AND MEDICINES IN SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND? HOW WERE THESE DIFFERENT IN NOBLE/MERCHANT/COMMON LIFE? WHAT, IF ANY, MEDICAL DISCOVERIES OR ADVANCEMENTS WERE MADE DURING SHAKESPEARE’S LIFETIME?
Manisha P.
English 8-3
3/1/10
Medicine
Medicine played a very important role in lives of people in Shakespeare’s England in various ways. It led to more innovation and new remedies. Although medicine was not that advanced in Shakespeare’s time, it led to many discoveries by three doctors: Ambroise Paré, William Harvey, and Andreas Vesalius. According to Lia Ramsey in her article “Medical Beliefs and Practices.” “William Harvey studied of the circulation of the blood and disproved the existing notion that the heart was merely a fountain of supply.” Ambroise Pare “discovered the effectiveness of hygiene on wound healing,” said Lia Ramsey. According to Dave Parkins in his article “ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514-1564)”, “Vesalius published his revolutionary book De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body).” Vesalius described several organs in the human body. He also described the thalamus, an organ of the human body, located inside the brain, for the first time. As you can see, medicine led to the development of many cures and had a great impact on the lives of many people in Shakespeare’s time.
There were many medical theories and beliefs in Shakespeare’s England. The main one regarded humours. Humours are body fluids, which are thought to be located in the liver. It was believed that the four humours, blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile), and melancholy (black bile) existed within a person’s body. According to Andy Patterson and Bethany White from the web article, "Elizabethan Medicine,” “If a person had more blood, they were likely to be joyous, kind, and have a sanguine (optimistic) personality. With plenty of phlegm, people were more cowardly, unresponsive, and have a phlegmatic (unemotional) personality. A great amount of choler (yellow bile) resulted in people being easily angered, impatient, and having a choleric (irritable) personality. With more melancholy (black bile), they were said to be more gluttonous and satiric.” Moreover, it was believed that too much of any of the humours caused diseases. A cure to avoid the sinful humour was to reduce the amount of blood. In order to reduce the amount of blood, people had to reduce the bile by using drugs. This was how the humours theory worked.
Another main belief was on the four elements: air, water, fire, and earth. They were thought to determine a person’s health and personality. “Air was the cold element, water the moist, earth the dry, and fire was the hot element,” said Andy Patterson and Bethany White in the web article “Elizabethan Medicine.” One more belief regarded “certain gemstones held medicinal powers. Garnets were believed to keep sorrow at bay. Topaz and jacinth were used to alleviate anger. Emeralds and sapphires were thought to ease the mind,” said Andy Patterson and Bethany White. Those were some of the few beliefs and theories made and believed by people in Shakespeare’s England.
Many types of medical practices took place in Shakespeare’s England. Cinchona, a plant derivative from Peru, was the first effective remedy for ague (malaria). It only cured a certain type of fever, though. Physicians discovered that putting a roasted onion in a person’s ear could cure an earache. A person had to rub his/her eyes with a black tomcat’s tail, to cure a sty. Lemon juice was said to make people healthy because it had a great amount of Vitamin C. Arterial blood of lambs were given to patients to cure mental illness. “This method was stopped when a patient died,” said Lia Ramsey. Those were some of the medical practices that benefited many people in Shakespeare’s England.
Many physicians in Shakespeare England didn’t have advanced medical procedures, but still managed to cure many of their patients. Urine was the most common way to find the cause of the problem. It could be carried, by a special messenger, to the physician inside a urinal, which is a glass vessel. The special messenger would rush the urinal to the physician. Liza Picard, author of Elizabeth’s London, explains that the urine “was best to be fresh – from patient to physician, who could diagnose without ever seeing the patient, just by holding the urinal to the light” (98). This was one of the common procedures done by doctors.
During Shakespeare’s lifetime there were various types of medicines. Many medicines involved potions acquired from the concoction of plants and herbs. Leaches and cupping did the job of getting blood. The bubonic plague was “treated by means of lancing the buboes and applying a tepid poultice of onion, butter, and garlic,” as said in the article “Elizabethan England Medicine”. Other types of medicines involved tobacco, lily root, arsenic, laxatives, suppositories, clysters (enemas), ointments, and dried toad. To cure stomach pain, people used mint, wormwood, and balm. For headaches, they used rose, sage, bay, and lavender. Vinegar was used to treat wounds because many people believed that it had an antiseptic property. Those were some of the medicines used during Shakespeare’s lifetime.
Work Cited
Websites:
Alchin, L.K. "Elizabethan Medicine and Illnesses."Elizabethan Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 9
Apr 2010. <http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-medicine-and-
illnesses.htm>.
"Elizabethan England Medicine." Elizabethan England Life . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr 2010. <http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-england- medicine.html>.
Parkin, Dave, and Marilyn Parkin. "ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514-1564) ." Zephyrus
Interactive Education on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr 2010.
<http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/andreasvesalius.html>.
Patterson, Andy , and Bethany White. "Elizabethan Medicine." Elizabethan England . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr 2010. <http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/elizabe thanmedicine.html>.
Ramsey, Lia . "Medical Beliefs and Practices ." Elizabethan England . N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr 2010. <http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/Medbel prac.html>.
Book Sources:
Picard, Liza. Elizabeth's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London . St. Martin's Griffin, May 19, 2005. 97-109. Print.